Cloud computing increasingly is implemented as an alternative to conventional client-server computing environments. In cloud computing, hardware and software resources are supplied to remote computing devices on-demand. In a conventional cloud computing environment, the resources of the “cloud” are shared among multiple users. This approach typically provides reduced costs and oversight on a per-user basis as each user is no longer required to acquire, configure, and manage a separate computing infrastructure.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.